The scariest moment was when the clutch pedal snapped, in the outside lane of the M6. I applied every brake I could find and finally managed to screech to a halt. Luckily some truckers saw I was in trouble and stopped to push me on to the hard shoulder.Not only could the car be lethal, it could also be costly. I reckoned it was time to spend money on a serious car, and for me pounds 3,000 was serious. For that I got a comfortable, but troublesome car. The fact that this Renault was so difficult to get at and the fact that it did not start should have tipped me off. Despite the fact that the dealer had to jump start it, and the gears only engaged when the clutch pedal was nearly out, I fell in love with it.
People sneered at the little thing, so I had to get something a bit bigger and, to be blunt, a bit more phallic. I spotted the answer to my dreams hemmed in by a load of other used cars on a lot in Dudley. You couldn't miss it: my worst car was a great big red Renault 25. I came to driving quite late. I was 28 years old; I had just passed my test and inherited a Mini from an ex-girlfriend Somehow it didn't fit my image.
A 1998 example will be nicely run in by then.Vulcan Motor Company - 01603 494494.. The engine isn't that bad once you get used to it.So why wait for a Mark 4 Golf? If you really want one, wait until 2006. They can be dull, worthy plodders with a diesel unit on board which is likely to last well into the next century. A small trader had a turbodiesel 1994 model, which had led a busy life with its one previous, caring owner. It was advertised at pounds 7,700 and had covered 90,000 miles. That was because it had covered just over 100,000 miles, according to all the records and the digital odometer.
The last GTI was a shadow of its former self, but a magazine such as Golf Xtreme would have the information to turn it into something much more fun to drive However, Golfs don't all run VR6, or GTI engines. The price was almost pounds 11,000.A privately advertised five-door GTI was a reasonable pounds 6,000. It has been described as a miniature Mercedes, which is not far off the mark. At the Vulcan Motor Company in Norwich, a very nice, 1992, 80,000 miles example had had one previous owner, a doctor. It came with air-conditioning, was in stunning condition and drove beautifully. The Mark 3 is much heavier, slower and softer than the earlier car, and we find that buyers are disappointed by the lack of character and sportiness of the later version."It is worth looking at the Mark 3 to see how it has weathered in the used car market, and whether there are any bargains out there.Arguably the best model Volkswagen built - which will not be built as a mark 4 - is the VR6.